Process of imprinting and fixing colored pictures or designs upon enameled metal, &amp;c.



CHARLES JOHN GREENLEY AND JOHN DAY, OF WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF IMPRINTING AND FIXING COLORED PICTURES 0R DESIGNS UPONENAMELED METAL, &c.

srncrrrcerron arming part 6f Letters Patent No. 726,526, dated April 28,1903. Application filed August 7, 1902. Serial No. 118,809. (Nospecimens.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES JOHN GREEN- LEY, residing at SpringCottage, Merridale street, and JOHN DAY, residing at 156 Penn road,Wolverhampton, in the county of Stafford, England, subjects of the Kingof Great Britain, have jointly invented an Improved Process ofImprinting and Fixing Colored Pictures or Designs upon Enameled Metaland the Like, of'which the following is a specilication.

Thisinvention consists in an improved process of imprinting and fixingcolored pictures or designs upon enameled metal and other surfaces Whichare afterward subjected. to heat or stoved, so as to burn in theornamentation.

By this invention weare enabled to greatly reduce the number of burningsor stovings of such metal or other surfaces,so that evenfor the mostcomplicated colored design or pic ture three burnings are sufficient;thus materially reducing the costof production. We are also enabled toinsure that each portion or part of the picture or design is morequickly and also more correctly and accurately registered or placed inposition before burning or stoving than has hitherto been possible.

According to the present method of producing pictures or designs onenameled metal plates each section or part representing a particularshade or color has to be. put on the plate separately bya papertransfer, the plate being on each occasion afterward fired or stoved, sothat the number of burnings depends upon the number of colors orvariations of color in the picture or design to be produced.

In carrying this invention into practice We use a transparent medium,ofgelatin or its equivalent, for transferring the design from the stone tothe enameled plate in place of paper transfers. This transparent mediumis made in the following manner: WVe take a piece of celluloid, mica, orthe like which is more or less flexible, and upon this we put a coatingof transparent or semitransparent gelatin or its equivalent. The gelatinis first heated into a liquid state and run upon a sheet of glass orother flat surface, which is moved about so as to spread the liquidgelater cooling the sheet of celluloid and the tin evenly over the wholesurface. The celluloid sheet or its equivalent is then laid upon thegelatin while the glass is still warm and pressed onto the gelatin, soas to adhere to 55 it. The surface of the glass upon which the gelatinis run must be kept quite clean and polished-say with French chalk. Af-

gelatin to which it now adheres arestripped 6 off the glass and formtogether a transfer medium or rubber which is ready for use. \Ve nowtake this transparent medium or rubber and imprint in a sticky mediumupon its gelatin face from a lithographic stone or plate the lines ofthe drawing, or so much thereof as is required to be transferred ontothe metal plate or its equivalent, which is previously enameled, and inorder to greatly reduce the number of firings we transfer the lines ofthe darkest shades first, which is exactly the contrary to the practicewhich has hitherto been generally adopted. After transferring the lineswe dust them in with ceramic or enamel color of the darkest shade. 7 Wenow cleanse the surface of the gelatin with turpentine, benzolin, or thelike and then by means thereof and in the same manner as before transferfrom the stone to the plate the necessary lines for a lighter shade ofcolor on the same scale chromatically, and so on until a sufficientefiect is produced. Thisis an important feature of our invention, as bythis means we can make several distinct and successive prints upon thesame metal plate or surface and considerably reduce the risk of injuryto the plate or other substance worked upon which each firing involves,and by this means we can with not more than three burnings or firings ofthe plate or other substance reproduce a most elaborate and complicatedpicture.

For example, supposing we wish to produce an enameled picture in whichthere are the following colors-black, brown, red, buff, and fleshcolorwe should take the imprint from the stone for black and transfer itby our transfer medium to the enameled plate and dust in withblack-enamel color. Then We take another print or impression from thebrown and transfer it to the plate on the top of the black impressionand dust in with brown enamel color, and so on with each color,finishing With the flesh or lightest tint last. These five printings orcolors can then be fused, set, or fixed on the plate or substance beingWorked upon by only one firing or heating of the latter.

In addition to metal goods this process may be used for pottery, glass,tiles, and all other goods Where the colors of the design or picturehave to be burned in, and the transparent medium may be used bylithographers or the like for transferring from stone to stone or plateto stone.

What We claim, then, is-

The process of imprinting and fixing colored pictures or designs upon aplate of enameled metal or the like, consisting in preparing a pluralityof designs on lithographic stone, one for each color, shade or tint,imprinting said designs upon a transparent adhesive surface,transferring each imprint to the plate, said transfers being made inchromatic order, beginning with the darkest and finishing with thelightest, dusting in each color after its corresponding imprint has beenmade, and firing not more than three times during the process.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of twoWitnesses.

CHARLES JOHN GREENLEY. JOHN DAY. Witnesses:

A. MATHEWS, A. G. OCKFORD.

